Margaret di Menna
Margaret Elaine di Menna ONZM (8 July 1923 – 24 March 2014) was a New Zealand microbiologist. In 1954 she became the first woman to gain a Doctor of Philosophy degree from a New Zealand university. Her doctoral thesis at the University of Otago was entitled Yeasts of the human body, their nature and relationship.[1] She had previously graduated with a MSc(Hons) from the same institution in 1948.[2]
Margaret di Menna | |
|---|---|
| Born | Margaret Elaine di Menna 8 July 1923 Huddersfield, Yorkshire, England |
| Died | 24 March 2014 (aged 90) Hamilton, New Zealand |
| Alma mater | University of Otago |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Microbiology |
| Thesis | Yeasts of the human body, their nature and relationship (1954) |
In 1990, di Menna was awarded the New Zealand 1990 Commemoration Medal,[3] and in the 1997 New Year Honours, she was appointed an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit, for services to microbiology.[4] In 2011, the reading room at Abbey College at the University of Otago was named in her honour.[5] She was a prominent member of Zonta International.[6]
She died in Hamilton in 2014.[7]
References edit
- ^ Page, Dot (2012). (PDF). New Zealand Federation of University Women Canterbury Branch Newsletter (April): 5. Archived from the original (PDF) on 8 February 2013. Retrieved 29 March 2014.
- ^ "NZ university graduates 1870–1961". Retrieved 29 March 2014.
- ^ Taylor, Alister; Coddington, Deborah (1994). Honoured by the Queen – New Zealand. Auckland: New Zealand Who's Who Aotearoa. p. 121. ISBN 0-908578-34-2.
- ^ "New Year honours list 1997". Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. 31 December 1996. Retrieved 15 December 2019.
- ^ . www.agresearch.co.nz. AgResearch. April 2011. Archived from the original on 29 March 2014. Retrieved 29 March 2014.
- ^ "A Brief History of Prominent Zonta Member: Margaret Di Menna, Club of Hamilton-Waikato". Zonta International New Zealand. 2014. Retrieved 7 October 2018.
- ^ "Dr Margaret di Menna obituary". The New Zealand Herald. 26 March 2014. Retrieved 29 March 2014.